Comments on Dean of Students Jeanne Ortiz's Email to Whittier College Students

This page contains a letter written by Dean Jeanne Ortiz of Whittier College (in black text) and comments on the letter by whittiergate.com (in green text):

"This past week some members of the Whittier College community received an e-mail directing them to a website. This site contained information about the College and pictures of students. The content was upsetting as it portrayed students engaged in activities intended to be shared only among friends, along with misleading text. Students can go to ASWCpoets.com for information on how to remove items from social networking sites."

Comments:
First, read about some of Whittier College's efforts to keep students away from whittiergate.com in Dirty Tricks Log on this site. Now, all photos referenced were posted for public viewing, were not intended for viewing only by friends, but were indeed posted to attract new friends. And, no whittiergate.com text is knowingly misleading. We would submit that it is Whittier College, not this website, attempting to mislead.

"I, along with many, was deeply disturbed by the site's content and as a result, would like to offer the following thoughts:

"1. Despite the common misconception that the information and pictures shared on Myspace and Facebook are private, this incident affirms that what is uploaded to these social networking sites is public, has the potential to be shared widely and is difficult to remove. Because of the public nature of these sites, it is not uncommon for potential employers to check these sites when considering an individual to hire and there have been reports of employment decision influenced by what is portrayed on these social networking sites. The take away? Do not post anything on the internet that you would not be proud to be seen by a wide range of people including your family, friends and future employers."

Comments:
Better, don't do things you wouldn't be proud to have widely known. And don't let the Whittier College administration mislead you by the example of its own misconduct and crimes, and by the way the College sweeps your misconduct and crimes under the rug, to believe that you'll get away with misconduct and crimes in the big world outside little Whittier College and its equally corrupt college town, Whittier.

And what site content was Dean Ortiz deeply disturbed by exactly? By Whittier College's criminal neglect while Profs. Barnstone and Heldman and Heldman's child were terrorized on campus, or the College in a conspiracy to chill protected speech by a false filing, perjury and obstruction of justice, or preventing publication in the newspaper of open letters from on and off campus sources, or planting libelous and defamatory disinformation articles in newspapers, or assault on an officer of a court by Campus Safety, or just what site content exactly? If Dean Ortiz was surprised by what goes on every day where she works, then, well, her thoughts would be relevant to any resolution?

What's deeply disturbing is Whittier College acting like a parent on his or her way to prison excusing his or her child's budding criminal career by saying, "I told him to do what I say, not what I do." Dean Ortiz, if you want your students to be honest, upright leaders in the bud, then someone should tell you that your evasions, your dishonesty by omissions, your cya reaction first and last, well, this is some role modeling, Dean.


"2. Residential life operates with the assumption that students should be able to live with relative privacy, except when certain behaviors such as noise or the smell of marijuana require intervention. The pictures posted on this site suggest that some students were engaged in behaviors that violate College policy or federal or state laws. Residential Life does not search social networking sites for policy violations, however, when information like this is brought to the office's attention, Residential Life has no alternative but to investigate. The take away? We have made a decision not to investigate the situations and individuals portrayed in these pictures, but will be compelled to do so in the future."

Comments:
Whittier College always knows what's going on on campus, including in the dorms. RA's, staff, Campus Safety, audio and visual monitoring, and all of just 800 residents in close quarters. So the point here is that you better not let the wrong people find out what you're doing, and if you post photos, especially on whittiergate.com, then you'll be punished. So the punishment isn't for breaking rules or laws, but for in effect talking about it, even in pictorial form, in the wrong place.

FYI, if this site had foreseen anything but the College sweeping your misconduct under it's dirty skirts, we'd have had to go about this differently. Nothing consequential is going to happen to you, as you know, no matter what you do, as long as you play ball with the College. Everyone who knows Whittier College knows it's out of control, and the College wants to keep that quiet, but evidently not to correct problems, to engage in chilling protected speech and petition rights, but not to chill the real dangers on campus, and this site simply wants the College to be honest.

If Whittier College isn't going to keep drugs out of the dorms, then it should stand up and call for a change in the drug laws. If Whittier College isn't going to stop underage drinking in the dorms, then it should stand up and call for a change in the drinking age. If Whittier College is going to foster an environment in which minors violate College policy and federal and state laws, and engage in misconduct and criminal acts to keep that fact quiet, then it had better have a better response than "Shhh!"

The hypocrisy of Whittier College policy breeds dishonesty, contempt for rules and rule of law, begs students to engage in misconduct and crimes, and then protects them for doing so, setting you up for problems in the future beyond campus. This hypocrisy has also resulted in a Campus Safety office that is not only inept but as well corrupt. That is disturbing.

And if Whittier College is not going to run its mandatory housing in a manner that emphasizes acceptable conditions for study as well as socializing, then student families have a right to know that, for what they're paying and the debt they're assuming for years to come as well as their right to simply expect the College to uphold its end of the deal, to be honest, to actually provide the student with what's advertised, not the out of control situation this website honestly shows is reality at Whittier College.


"3. Situations like this can cause students to feel uneasy because their perceived privacy has been violated. It may cause one to ask, "Does the person who did this know where I live?" "What does he/she know about me?" Campus Safety can only do so much to help ensure the safety of students... they cannot be everywhere all the time! The take away? Students must take responsibility for their own personal safety and the safety of others. If you see a door propped open, shut it. Don't let people "tailgate" when entering your residence hall, and immediately report anything that you think is suspicious to Campus Safety. Program their telephone number, 562-907-4211 into your cell phone."

Comments: This is beneath contempt. Scaring students to control students. This website exists in large part because of the violence committed on the Whittier College campus, not by a website but by Campus Safety officers and by student bullies protected by Whittier College. And when Campus Safety assaults you, where do you go? To the Whittier P. D., Campus Safety City Division? Thank God Campus Safety can't be everywhere all the time: that means there are some safe havens if only temporarily. What do you do when bullies protected by the College threaten or assault you? When you figure that one out, be sure to tell the professors and students who've left Whittier College because they don't feel safe on the Whittier College campus.

If Campus Safety wasn't so involved in Dirty Tricks against good people, then it might have some time to think through and then carry out its supposed functions effectively, instead of ruining the school's reputation with Dirty Tricks and bungling its supposed functions so badly it sometimes seems as though they must be doing so on purpose. Campus Safety is the fox investigating the fox in the chicken coop. Think felonious eavesdropping on Quaker Campus, as just one example. Campus Safety alternating doing nothing with heavy-handed actions violating rights creates not just a lack of respect for Campus Safety, but, more, passive resistance to its officers and administrators. This hasn't just taken place during the Barnstone, Heldman cheating scandal violence, resulting in those terrorizing Barnstrone and Heldman, and Heldman's child, on campus, thanks to this godawfaul police work the perpetrators getting away with serious misconduct and crimes on campus, but generally characterizes Campus Safety's on campus bungling.

And when you experience a serious problem issuing from Whittier College's Societies, do you imagine that Campus Safety's going to help you? Campus Safety employees are Society members. Acting Campus Safety Chief John Lewis is a long-time member and advisor to a Society on campus. When guys pushing 30 are through campus Societies preying on the youngest coeds, role modeling for student Society members, and Campus Safety wants that kept from you, while it already knows about such individuals, has indeed facilitated their illegal activities, then be concerned.

Do you believe that Campus Safety doesn't know about Society hazings? Students are now in jail in California for being part of hazings, and in some states it is now a crime to fail to report knowledge of a hazing incident. There are reasons why Whittier College Societies can't keep a house for more than a year or two at most. Everyone knows, yet nothing is done, and any effort made to correct problems is subjected to Dirty Tricks.

The dangers on the Whittier College campus are posed by those you know on campus, not by strangers; are not caused by a website but by those whom you know who can pressure you to do what's wanted of you, or retaliate against you if you don't do what's wanted or dare do what's not wanted, if such coercion is in the self-perceived best interest of those persons known to you. Shame on Dean Ortiz for this shameless insult to our intelligence. A Dean of Students' first obligation is to students, not to the administration that merely gives the Dean a pay check. It is student families who give the College the money to cover those checks, Dean Ortiz.

And, Dean Ortiz, if you will only stop repeating "The take away?", we'll tell you everything we know.


"4. I asked myself, "If someone not associated with Whittier College saw this site, what would they think?" Although I know that students engage in the type of behaviors represented on this website, this is not the Whittier I know best. The Whittier I know is full of bright, capable students who daily reflect the Whittier College values of respect and dignity for each other and the campus and as our mission statement reads, are developing into young adults committed to leading and serving society. The take away? Please use this unfortunate incident to reflect on the ways in which you live out the founding values of Whittier College. Each of us took a pledge at the President's Convocation to let the "Light of Learning" guide our intellectual and personal endeavors so that we become those exemplary leaders in society. This will reflect positively on how we see ourselves as a campus community and how others outside of campus see us."

Comments: Anyone reading this website will see that Whittier College has serious problems, refuses to face and solve those problems, habitually engages in Dirty Tricks, and needs to make things right with victims of its misconduct and crimes, and make some policy changes. Whittier College needs to stop reducing important concepts and noble sentiment to platitudes and fear. Where is Dean Ortiz's, Whittier College's, respect for our intelligence or even common sense?

Reading Dean Ortiz's email, after having seen whittiergate.com, one's just bowled over by the complete moral, ethical and analytic vacuity of the Dean's view. When you have more students lying and cheating than being honest, then you have a serious problem. While you refuse to admit it, the problem worsens. When you fail to protect those who report misconduct from threats and retaliation, you have a crisis.

And when, still worse, you violate protected speech and petition rights, when you engage in misconduct and crimes to chill those rights, when you assault an officer of a court making required legal service on campus, then the administration is role modeling darkness, not light, misconduct and crimes, and you will never, while you continue as you have been and are, produce even honest people let alone exemplary leaders. Since the Quakers, the founders, stopped funding Whittier College, for moral and ethical objections to the reality of Whittier College, the school has only sunk lower and lower. Dean Ortiz's words here, like patriotism, are the scoundrel's last resort. When Whittier College starts talking about the Friends, just hold your nose, it'll pass, quickly.


"Thank you very much for reading my musings, especially at this very busy time of year. If you have some thoughts, I would love to hear from you. Best wishes on your finals, and remember, you are always a Poet."

Jeanne Ortiz, PhD.

Dean of Students

Whittier College

Comments: Dean Ortiz will have to love hearing from us through this page: this website's blocked by the Whittier College server. No student of Whittier College can ever be justly proud of being a Poet until Whittier College makes things right with its victims and makes and actually implements policies that make Whittier College live up to its own billing, which it demonstrably does not do now. Until faculty and students can report misconduct and crimes without fear of threats and retaliation, then there is no policy of consequence, no rule of law, at Whittier College. Whittier College student families have made a deal with the devil here: the College will protect the student from consequences for wrongs done, but that student will be subject to the school's and the bullies' it protects influence and control therefore.

Dean Ortiz, no one can view whittiergate.com and fail to see the issues demanding redress, the policies needing change. No one can fail to see that this website is against threats, coercion, violence, dirty tricks, and that the only threats that've been made, the only violence that has been perpetrated, have issued from Whittier College and the bullies it protects. Students being shown to be doing what Dean Ortiz already knows they've been doing, not only breaking but flaunting breaking all the rules, and laws, and has done nothing about heretofore, isn't her concern. Dean Ortiz's concern is that people will learn the truth about Whittier College, and has made clear that you'll be punished if you show the truth to the wrong person, show it in the wrong place, not for wrongs done, but rather if you exercise your free speech.

Condoning and even role modeling misconduct and crimes while chilling free speech is Whittier College's true character, brand. This is the continuing tragedy that makes being a Poet mean so much less than it might mean if the oath was honestly, not hypocritically, given and sworn. In the same way a cheating student could do better by honest study, so Whittier College clinging to self-destructive Dirty Tricks when it could do so much better by simply being honest, role modeling a sound sense of morals and ethics, for a change, leaves one as dumbstruck as did Dick Nixon being caught with his pants down while up to his knees in Dirty Trick revelations. Given that there's a Whittier Law School, even if it is on probation because so many of its graduates fail to pass the bar exam, role modeling a respect for the law and its purposes and intentions, instead of playing fast and loose with that which ensures our civility, is likewise reasonably expected from Whittier College.

Dean Ortiz, people are going to learn the truth, no matter what you do to try to prevent that happening. The smart money's on doing the right things, making things right for wrongs done, making changes in policies so that Whittier College can be honest, can continue to exist in this time when we're all turned inside out, when what we are in reality is shown for all to see. The time when Dirty Tricks could manipulate an uninformed public is gone. If all Whittier College amounts to is a pile of Dirty Tricks, then what is its value to an open society? This website has given Whittier an opportunity to change. Whittier College should make the most of this opportunity - because only then can Whittier College students stop hiding the truth, being dishonest, like their role models at Whittier College, and finally be honest and honestly proud to be Poets.

 

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